Categories

Meta

Author: TorySand

Due to the union’s lead negotiator being called away to other union business next week. Bargaining for November 17th, 18th & 19th has been cancelled. More bargaining date for December 2nd, 3rd & 4th have been scheduled.

The 2nd Quarter, 2014 profit sharing amount resulted in a payout of $.96 per eligible hour and it will be deposited into your bank account on August 1, 2014 or sent to Great West Life to be deposited into your designated account based upon your election.

Steelworkers across the continent today are mourning the passing of Lynn Williams. One of North America’s most influential and respected labour leaders of the 20th century, Williams, 89, died Sunday in Toronto.

Williams served as International President of the United Steelworkers (USW) from 1983 to 1994. He was the first Canadian labour leader elected president of a major international trade union. He led the Steelworkers union through one of its most difficult and turbulent periods, amidst dramatic industrial restructuring and upheaval in the 1980s and 1990s. He developed new bargaining techniques and played a leading role in the structural readjustment of the North American steel industry.

Lynn Russell Williams joined the Steelworkers in the late 1940s while working at the John Inglis factory in Toronto. He rose through the union’s ranks and served more than two decades in elected positions on the USW’s International Executive board, including Ontario Director and International Secretary. He was the first union leader to hold executive leadership roles with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

During his tenure as USW International president, Williams founded the Steelworkers’ Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) to harness the power and influence of union pensioners. SOAR has grown into a force of labour, political and social justice activism in Canada and the U.S.

Williams was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005. In 2007 the City of Toronto named a street in his honour, in the redeveloped former industrial neighbourhood where he began his career.

A private funeral service for Williams’ immediate family is planned. A date will be announced in the near future for a memorial service for friends, union members and the public.

The 1st Quarter, 2014 profit sharing amount resulted in a payout of $1.31 per eligible hour
and it will be deposited into your bank account on April 30, 2014 or sent to Great West Life
to be deposited into your designated account based upon your election.

The local was successful at arbitration regarding discipline for Proznick that involved almost all aspects of the definitive KVP decision from 1965. Please read an overview of guide to the 6 rules of The KVP Award on Company Rules . A three day suspension was removed.

Hopefully this decision will illustrate to Evraz and its management team that they cannot act in an arbitrary, discriminatory or unreasonable manner when implementing policies and enforcing them.

As you may or may not be aware the original bargained monies of $375 for the new Health spending account expire on December 31, 2013. The Company released the following memo today explaining the HSA and outlining the plan.

Employees who are actively at work and eligible for benefits on March 31, 2012, would have received $375 in their Health Spending Account. Under Income Tax guidelines Health Spending credits must be used on eligible expenses by the end of the following year in which they are granted. This means that the initial $375 must be used prior to December 31, 2013. If it is not used any outstanding amount will be forfeited from your account. Attached is a copy of the original memo introducing the program.

Eligible expenses are defined under the Income Tax Act and can be utilized for yourself and your eligible dependents. These are reviewed by CRA on a regular basis and are subject to change. Attached is a summary from the CRA website showing what currently eligible expenses are. You can also visit the website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca and type in eligible Health Spending expenses to get the list.

You may claim through the Health Spending Account by completing a medical claim form or submitting a claim online. Please review the user guide to web claims that is attached, you will need to contact Standard Life to set up a user name and password, if this is your first time submitting online.

If you have questions on your Health Spending Account balance you will need to contact Standard Life. The number is 1-800-499-4415. You will need to know your certificate number (Evraz ID# with 3 zeros at the end) and your policy number (15037).

The CPI figure was released from Stats Canada on August 23 for the second quarter of 2013. As per the Collective Bargaining Agreement COLA will increase 8 cents. The new COLA rate will be 92 cents per straight time hour.